Hi there, yesterday i got my 2nd Alembic so it's about time to join the Board and introduce myself. I'm Kai from Germany and now I own two Essence 5, one from 1992 (old body shape) and the newer from 1996. The Essence is one of my favourite Alembics, as I Love the construction, shape and sound. I got my first one (92') about 2 years ago at a trainstation as we weren't able to meet at home, must have looked like an illegal exchange of a machine gun in that case but it didn't matter to me... Everytime I look at it I remember this lucky day. Yesterday there was number two, this time I met the pre-owner at home ;) My first has a flame maple top and maple body(I assume), the serial is 92K 7180. The second has a birdseye maple top with mahagony body, 96K 10354. Maybe someone can tell me more about my babies with the serials. Here are some pics, I'm lookin forward on having nice conversations with you guys, actually we are one big family ;)

You can ask for more infos about your babies on "Owning an Alembic/Serial Number Request". Mica have all records and can tells you about the woods and other infos (like if it had previous owners). It may take some time, as she certainly has other dutties, but is the right place to ask for basses's infos.

Oh, great oportunity to ask about the differences between Maple and Mahogany Bodies... Can you notice any changes in a side-by-side comparision?

At distance I can assume Number One was made in 92, has 3 pieces maple Neck lamination (without any veneer), regular Essence Eletronics (Volume, Pan and Filter), Flame Maple Top (probably with Walnut veneer) and Ebony Fingerboard with no Dots.

Number Two was made in 96 and has Bird's Eye Mapple Top over a Mahogany Body (probably with a Walnut veneer, but I can't say for shure without closer look). And it is clear that it got Walnut veneers in the Maple Neck. I can also presume the Dots are Pearloyd, the Fretboard is Ebony and the Eletronics are the regular Volume-Pan-Filter.

Thank you, I'm gonna ask about serials, and as far as the comparison is concerned: I first have to get some new strings the current ones are pretty old... But what I heard as far was a little warmer, mellow sound compared to my all maple Essence which is a bright, woody and dry sounding one...

Interesting to see the two side by side like that. It could be an optical illusion, but it looks to me as if the older model has a slightly shorter scale - the bridge, tailpiece and bridge pickup are further in toward the centre of the body - is that the case? And if so, does the difference in scale length affect the playability either way?